Daughter of a Hero
by gemneely
Summary: Taryn Steel-Hammer's life is perfect- at least, that's what others thought. Her family was rich, and her mother being Thane Deyna, the Dragonborn of the Fourth Era, helped with that. Though they were powerful, things inside the family weren't so happy. But when Forsworn threaten more aspects of the family's lives, Taryn is kidnapped and thrown into chaos. (Rated T for now)


**Hey y'all! I'm kind of excited about this new story. The last one I wrote, The Stranger Among Us, I didn't even finish because people stopped reading it :/ I'll keep it up in case someone does, but I probably won't continue unless more people read it and review. But anyways, please enjoy this one and review! (Also, for Taryn's appearance, I based her off of Kendall Jenner, except with pale skin and different colored eyes. And no, Deyna does not look like Kris Jenner, thank God.)**

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It's 4E 226, and for Taryn Steel-Hammer, life in Windhelm was perfect. At least, that's what people outside her family thought. They were rich, and her mother being Thane Deyna helped with that. They had a huge manor just outside the Palace of Kings. Deyna had fought alongside High King Ulfric during the Skyrim Civil War, and killed General Tullius herself. Oh, and she was the Dragonborn of the Fourth Era who defeated Alduin.

Yes, they were rich and powerful throughout Skyrim, but most things inside the family weren't so happy. After barely surviving the Civil War, Thane Deyna tried to protect her children from the outside world, but only made them restless and rebellious.

Taryn had always been told she was pretty, but she was always modest and blushed whenever someone said it.

She had long, straight, chestnut colored hair. Her eyes were a mix of grey and green, much like the Auroras that shone in the night sky. Her skin was a pretty, fair tone. She could tan if she lived in a city like Whiterun or Solitude, but Windhelm was not the place. She was average height, with a slightly athletic body. Her mother always proudly claimed Taryn got the athletic-built genes from her, when she had actually gotten them from secret training sessions with a certain rookie guard.

On this particular day, Taryn was sent to the market with her younger brother and sister, Rolf and Clarese. It was Fredas, and it had been a pretty usual week so far, but today would definitely not be usual.

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"Taryn, it's cold!" Clarese whined, tugging on her sister's coat.

"It's Windhelm, what did you expect? I told you to wear a warmer coat." Taryn said, rolling her eyes.

"Take me back to the house to get one!"

The older sibling sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Clarese, I'm busy. Rolf, take Clarese back to the house to get a coat and meet me back here."

"But-" Rolf started to object.

"Just do it, please!" Taryn said, trying not to snap. Rolf grunted and pulled his sister by the arm.

When the two were out of sight, Taryn turned back to the stall. She looked at the shopping list her mother gave her.

_Bread✓_

_Goat cheese✓_

_Eidar cheese✓_

_Cabbage✓_

_Candles✓_

_Cure disease potion_

_Leeks_

_Potatoes_

_Tomatoes_

Taryn sighed and stuffed the list into her pocket. Her father had been sick lately, and her mother had been too lazy to do anything about it until now.

She walked out of the marketplace and started towards The White Phial. When she walked inside, a horrible odor suddenly filled her nostrils. Coughing, she pinched her nose and looked around. There seemed to be no one inside.

"Hello?" She called. No one. Suddenly, as she walked towards the back of the shop, a guard appeared in front of the doorway, blocking her. She jumped, almost dropping her pouch.

"What are you doing, sneaking into the back of the store? Planning to steal something?" The man said sternly.

"What? N-no, I was seeing if anyone was here, and I-" Taryn stammered, blushing. Then, the guard raised his helmet to reveal who the guard was. Tall, blonde hair, brown eyes... Erick.

"I'm kidding! It's just me," he said in his usual accent, grinning. His voice was unlike any that was in Skyrim. Although, once, an older redheaded Nord visited Windhelm who had an accent similar to Erick's.

"Erick! Don't do that!" Taryn said, punching his arm. Instantly she winced and rubbed her knuckles.

"Chain mail, Taryn. How many times are you going to try to punch me?"

The latter glared up at him, but couldn't hold back a smile. "A lot, apparently. Now I think I should ask why _you're_ here."

"The alchemist had a bit of an accident, and I was the first guard he saw, so he asked me to help."

"Gods, that's what that smell is?"

"Yeah, lucky me," Erick sighed, waving the smell away from his nose.

"Well, while I do feel bad for you," Taryn said with a wink, "could you fetch the alchemist for me? I need to make a purchase."

Erick walked off towards the back of the shop, and a few moments later the alchemist showed up.

"What can I get ya, miss?" An older Altmer asked.

"I need a potion of cure disease," Taryn said. The alchemist bent down behind the desk to retrieve the potion. Erick then poked his head out the doorway, a confused look on his face.

_I'll tell you later,_ she mouthed as the Altmer found the potion.

"Alright, that'll be 79 gold," he said. Taryn reached into her pocket for her coin purse. She pulled out 7 ten pieces and 9 one pieces. "Thank you miss, have a great day. Oi, guard! You're free to go."

Erick immediately appeared in the doorway, gagging. He was waving the stench away, and walked out the door with Taryn. Holding the door open for her, he lowered his helmet.

"Citizen, I require that I be a gentleman and carry your pouch for you," Erick said, mock sternness in his voice. Taryn rolled her eyes and handed him the pouch of groceries.

The two cleared out the list and started to return back to Hjerim, Taryn's home. It was already dark, and she suddenly remembered her two siblings who hadn't returned.

"Erick, you haven't seen Clarese and Rolf, have you?" She asked.

"No, I've been with you the whole time. Why? What's wrong?" He asked.

"I sent them back to the house because Clarese needed a new coat. I told them to meet me back in the market, but I just realized I haven't seen them since," Taryn said, starting to talk faster.

"Ok, ok, calm down, you're doing that talking fast thing again you do when you're nervous. I'm sure they're at the house," Erick reassured her.

"They'd better be, for their sake and mine," she said angrily, and started walking faster.

When they reached Hjerim, Taryn quickly opened the door. With a sigh of relief, she saw the two children sitting at the table. Then, her relief quickly went away as she saw who was in the house with them. Bandits.

But, Taryn quickly realized they weren't just bandits, they were Forsworn. Forsworn surrounded the outside of the room, weapons drawn. Taryn's mother and father sat by the children, looking anxious.

Erick drew his sword and stood in front of Taryn. Suddenly, a Forsworn sheathed his sword and pulled out his bow. In a split second, Erick had an arrow lodged in his chest, and fell backwards onto the snow.

"Erick!" Taryn cried. She knelt down next to him, only to be pulled back into the house by her arms. The door slammed shut behind her, and a bandit barricaded the door. She was shoved onto the bench next to Clarese.

"Now that we're all here..." Deyna said, glaring at Taryn, "What do you want from us?"

The leader of the intruders laughed mockingly. "It's not just that simple, Deyna. We don't require money, or jewels, or anything of that nature. We wouldn't come all the way from the Reach for that. We want something more."

"Spit it out, then! I don't have all damn day!" Deyna spat, which got her a sword handle in the back. Clarese started crying, and Taryn hugged her shoulders.

"Attitude won't get us anywhere, Thane," the Forsworn said through gritted teeth. Deyna glared up at the Breton. "We need your assistance in a huge task. You really have no choice whether or not to do this, because whether you help us or not, something precious," he sneered, walking over to Taryn, and started playing with her hair, "will be taken from you."

He then violently pulled her hair back, causing a small cry to escape from her. His blade was put over her neck to silence her. Deyna and Taryn's father gasped, covering their mouths.

"You must help us regain the Reach. But before you do that, you will take the life of the very person who took it from us. According to our sources, you also fought alongside him in the Civil War. Lovely, that means you've gained his trust. It shouldn't be that hard to kill Ulfric Stormcloak."

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**And that's that! I realize I might need help in figuring out how to punctuate and capitalize after a quote, so if any of you would be kind enough to tell me how to do it correctly, it would be appreciated! :)**


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